§ Mr. HOBHOUSEasked the Minister of Agriculture the number and percentage of failures among smallholders under the three classes of holdings, respectively, and the number of ex-service and other applicants at present requiring small holdings?
— Service and Ex-Service Men. No. of applications made on or before 1st December, 1920. Service and Ex-Service Men. No. of applications made after 1st December, 1920. Civilians. No. of applications. Total. Applicants approved and not yet provided with holdings. 4,792 1,324 4,325 10,441 Applicants waiting interview or standing over. 1,263 3,373 4,182 8,818
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can state the number of counties in which rents under the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act have been, or are being placed on a permanent basis; and what have been the percentage reductions of the aggregate rent rolls of post-War small holdings allowed at each of the half-yearly audits in the last three years?
2348W
§ Mr. BUXTONThe latest information in the possession of the Ministry regarding the failure of statutory smallholders is contained in the Report on the Present Position and Future Prospects of Ex-Service men settled on the Land in England and Wales published by the Stationery Office last year. I am sending a copy to the hon. Member, from which he will see that the number of failures amongst statutory smallholders provided with holdings during the period 1908–14 was about 4 per cent. of the 14,000 men settled. Up to Lady Day, 1923, the total number of ex-service tenants who, for financial and similar reasons, had left holdings provided since the Armistice under the Small Holdings and Allotments Acts, 1908–19 was 1,205 out of 18,600, or 6.5 per cent. During the same period 21 out of 360 men provided with holdings under the Small Holding Colonies Acts had left for the above-mentioned reasons. The following table gives the position as at 16th January last of the number of applicants requiring small holdings:
(Note.—Any ex-service men who desired to avail themselves of the preference given to such men over civilians under the Government scheme, were required to send in their applications before 1st December, 1920.)
§ Mr. BUXTONIn 52 (out of 62) administrative counties in England and Wales the rents of small holdings acquired since the Armistice have been or are being permanently reduced. In some counties the rents of all the holdings have been reviewed, while in other counties rents of particular holdings only have been reviewed. The percentage reduction and temporary abatements of the aggregate rent rolls of post-War holdings allowed at each of the 2349W half-yearly audits during the last two and a-half years were:
The Ministry has no information regarding abatements, if any, allowed in respect of the half-year to Lady Day, 1921.
Michaelmas, 1921 5 per cent. Lady Day, 1922 Michaelmas, 1922 20 per cent. Lady Day, 1923 21 per cent. Michaelmas, 1923 20 per cent.
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEasked the Minister of Agriculture the number, total acreage, initial cost of land and equipment, and
— Number of individual holdings provided. Total area of land acquired and still retained. Initial cost of land purchased for Small Holdings. Cost of Equipment. Total Annual Rent Roll as at Michaelmas, 1923. I. Small Holdings and Allotments Ads, 1908 to 1919:— Number. Acres. £ £ £ (a) Period 1st Jan., 1908–18th Dec, 1918. 13,803* 200,001 4,619,857 995,000 (approx.). 379,950 (b) Period since 18th Dec., 1918. 18,608 259,427 9,220,798 (excluding costs of acquisition). 5,510,851 (including commitments). 631,283 II. Small Holdings (Colonies) Acts, 1916 and 1918.† 324 5,172 67,000 (approx.). 226,000 (approx.). 29,000 * In addition land has been let to 57 Co-operative Associations, and from information supplied as to 45 of these Associations it appears that in turn they sub-let to 1,234 tenants. † These figures exclude small holdings transferred by the Ministry, since acquisition, to a County Council, data for which are included under Part I.